For thousands of Catholic pilgrims who travel to Kibeho in southern Rwanda, the journey is about more than prayer.
Many leave with containers of water from a stream they regard as spiritually significant a practice that has also become a source of income for local traders.
Among them is Mukamana Claudette, who has built a livelihood selling the water alongside religious items such as images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, crosses and other Catholic crafts.
Claudette says the business has enabled her to raise her five children, all of whom are currently in school.
Her small stand attracts hundreds of customers, particularly pilgrims who want to take the water home but prefer not to make the descent to the stream themselves.
“A five-litre jerrycan is sold for Rwf1,500. We do not sell the water itself, but rather the jerrycan. Most of the people who buy from us are those who do not want to go down to the stream and instead choose to get it from here,” Claudette said.
According to her, she receives more than 250 customers on a typical day, making the water one of the most sought-after products sold around the pilgrimage site.
Why pilgrims value Kibeho water
For believers, the attraction is not simply the water itself but what they believe it represents.
Claudette says customers associate the water with spiritual blessings, protection and good fortune, and some tell her they have experienced positive changes after using it.
“Nothing else, but it is spiritual water for good luck. Many believers have testified that it has done wonders in their lives,” she said.
Claudette is also a believer in its perceived benefits.
“Personally, when I have a headache, I drink it and I am fine,” she said.
Such accounts reflect personal beliefs and experiences rather than medically established effects.
For Jado Hakizimana, the water has become a weekly purchase despite his own limited religious devotion.
He buys it for his 78-year-old mother, who strongly believes in its spiritual significance.
“She loves the water. She calls it ‘Maggie holy water’ and believes it cleanses all sins and removes bad omens,” Hakizimana said. 
A pilgrimage destination
Kibeho, in Rwanda’s Southern Province, is internationally known within the Catholic Church for reported Marian apparitions that began in 1981 among students at a local school.
The Catholic Church recognised the apparitions in 2001, making Kibeho an important pilgrimage destination.
Thousands of Catholics visit the site, particularly during major religious celebrations, while pilgrims also come from neighbouring countries and farther abroad.
The stream where the water is collected lies downhill from the main pilgrimage area, with water flowing from the surrounding mountain.
For many visitors, collecting the water has become part of their pilgrimage experience.
Katumbi, who travelled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the long journey to Kibeho was worth it.
“I travelled many miles to reach this holy place. Despite all the problems I have in my life, I now feel like a fresh human being,” he said.
The site has also attracted prominent visitors over the years, including international football stars who are Catholic.
Argentine football legend Sergio Agüero has also been among high-profile visitors associated with Kibeho.
Faith and livelihood
While pilgrims come seeking prayer and spiritual renewal, their presence has created a growing market for residents living around the shrine.
Traders sell holy water, religious images, rosaries, crosses, statues and other souvenirs, turning the steady flow of visitors into an important source of household income.
For Claudette, the business has gone beyond selling souvenirs.
It has become the livelihood through which she has educated her five children and supported her family.
At Kibeho, where thousands arrive in search of faith and spiritual comfort, the trade around the holy water shows another side of the pilgrimage: how religious tourism is also creating everyday economic opportunities for the communities surrounding the shrine.
